Rebel Without A Cause
by just.another.writer123
Summary: Beca Mitchell rules the school, captain of the soccer team, lead singer of her band and extreme player but when new girl Chloe Beale joins the school will she change her ways, and will she find out Beca's secret?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys, I'm super excited for this new story, and I hope you guys enjoy it. Hopefully I am still able to update as regularly for you guys. I want to thank you all for the amazing support of my other story Business Manager.**

 **Hope of you all enjoy!**

Hi, I'm Beca Mitchell. Yeah, yeah I know try not to get to excited, but I think it's time I tell you exactly what happened but first we need to go right back to the beginning.

"Beca, Beca!" I turned when I heard my name being called, and saw a leggy brunette walking down the street.

"Oh hey Stacie," I said as my best friend approached me.

"Hey. I need to tell you something," she looked nervous, and that was rare. Stacie never got nervous, like ever, so I gestured for her to continue.

"Well, I know it's our final year here and everything but I got offered a place at Oak Wood High, you know for that special placement." I nodded. "Well I'm taking it. I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Wow. Umm, well congratulations. Where is this school again?" I asked.

"Florida," she drawled out.

"What?! Stacie that is like in an entirely new state, how could you just up and leave like that?"

"I told you, it's for a special placement. If I take this, it gives me a better chance at going to Stanford. You know it's been my dream to go there ever since I was 12. Are you mad?"

I took some time to consider it, "No. No, I'm not mad. I'm going to miss you though, who am I supposed to rule the school with now?" I asked playfully nudging her with my shoulder.

Stacie looked happy at the change of conversation, "As if you need me Becs, you practically rule that school by yourself anyway, and you still have Jesse and Chicago," Stacie pointed out.

"Yeah well, it's not the same you know, but anyway. I'm really happy for you," I said honestly, she really deserved this, she'd been working super hard for the past few years in hopes of getting the chance to get closer to her dream collage.

"Thank you Becs, it means a lot. And we can still keep in contact, we can try and facetime at least one a week,"

"Yeah okay. I guess it won't be too bad," I said. Stacie was right though, I do own that school and I wasn't short on people to hang out with, but me and Stacie had been friends since we were little, so it will be hard not having her with me for our final year.

"Okay, well I need to finish packing, I'll see you phone you, okay?" Stacie said as she began to collect her things and walked away.

I decided to phone Jesse and ask him if he could come over, it wasn't like I had anything else to do before the first day of school.

"Hey Jess,"

"Hey Becs, what's up?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to come over for a bit, I've got something for you,"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, so I get your ass over here,"

"Alright, alright, I'll be there in 10," he said with a laugh

"Okay, see you soon," I said as I hung up the phone.

I headed into my house and went straight to my room. It was a big room I have had to admit, my parents had broken through two rooms for me as long as I agreed to decorate it all myself and with the help of a few friends I did. It had a big bed on the back wall, a TV, dresser and a desk which had my mixing equipment on and took up the majority of the space. I'd saved up for ages to get everything that was in here, but having extremely wealthy parents , who ran their own companies helped a lot. Which resulted in us having a very nice house.

I went over to my desk and started rummaging around for some papers, I knew they were here somewhere, I'd only put them on here last night. I missed half of the stuff on my desk until I finally found them, they were under the keyboard that was next to my desk. I forgot that I'd moved them there.

Just as I found them, there was a knock at my door. "It's open," I called.

"Hey Becs," It was Jesse. We'd known each other for around 6 years now, we were friends back in middle school and kept the friendship through high school. He was a really great friend, and he'd saved my ass more times than I could count.

"Hey Jess," I replied.

"So what do you have for me?" he asked coming to sit down next to me.

"These," I said and handed over the papers that I was looking for just before he arrived. He took them and studied them for a while, his eyes widening as he looked down the page.

"Wow. I don't know what to say," he said, his eyes still on the paper, "These are really good, Becs. I don't know how you do it," he said with a smile

"Well, I am the best," she said with a smirk.

"Well, I can't disagree. Do you maybe want to try them out?"

"Yeah, sure. Let's go downstairs, we can use the piano," I went downstairs and into the music room downstairs, mine also, and went over to the big grand piano we had.

"Do you want to play or should I?" Jesse asked.

"You can play if you want," I suggested, Jesse took a seat behind the piano, placed the music in front of him and began to play.

Counting Stars - Christina Grimmie

I see this life

Like a swinging vine

Swing my heart across the line

In my faces flashing signs

Seek it out and ye shall find

old, but I'm not that old

Young, but I'm not that bold

And I don't think the world is sold

I'm just doing what we're told

I, feel something so right

Doing the wrong thing

I, feel something so wrong

But doing the right thing

I could lie, could lie, could lie

Everything that kills me makes me feel alive

I been, I been losing sleep

Dreaming 'bout the things that we could be

Baby I been, I been prayin' hard

Said no more counting dollars

We'll be counting stars, stars, stars

I feel the love

And I feel it burn

Down this river every turn

Hope is a four letter word

Make that money

Watch it burn

Old, but I'm not that old

Young, but I'm not that bold

And I don't think the world is sold

I'm just doing what we're told

I, feel something so wrong

But doing the right thing

I could lie, could lie, could lie

Everything that drowns me makes me wanna fly

I been, I been losing sleep

Dreaming about the things that we could be

Baby I been, I been prayin' hard

Said no more counting dollars

We'll be counting stars, stars

Take that money and watch it burn

Sink in the river the lessons I learned

Take that money and watch it burn

Sink in the river the lessons I learned

Take that money and watch it burn

Sink in the river the lessons I learned

Take that money and watch it burn

Lately I been, I been losing sleep

Dreaming 'bout the things that we could be

Baby I been, I been prayin' hard

Said no more counting dollars

We'll be counting stars, stars, stars

We finished the song and we both had wide smiles on our faces.

"So?" I asked.

"So. Beca that was amazing. When we add Chicago in on the drums and me on the guitar it will be unbelievable, are you going to put that in on the set for the back to school bash?"

"You know it Jess, we will meet up more or less everyday this week at school so we can get all the songs in check and prepare ourselves," I said beginning to put everything away. "Oh and I have both you and Chic's parts for this song, do you mind dropping them off for me?"

"Sure Becs, I'll swing by on my way back," he said, going to collect his coat.

"Okay, cool, thanks, I'll just go and get them," I ran upstairs and went over to where I'd put all the music for the song, and quickly rushed back downstairs. "Here you go, Jess," I said handing over the music.

"Thanks Becs, I'll see you tomorrow, do you need a ride or anything?" he offered, opening the front door.

"No it's all fine, my car is coming out of the shop today."

"Well try not crash it again, Becs. Your Dad went crazy when he found out," Jesse said with a laugh remembering when I had to tell him, I mentally cringed at the memory.

"Dude, it wasn't funny. He took my guitar and keyboard away for an entire week!"

"Well, you did practically drive it into a tree, Becs,"

"It wasn't a tree! It was a lamp post," I stated.

"Well, it's not like that is any better is it?" he said with a smile.

"Oh just get out," I said with a laugh, pushing him out of the door.

"See you tomorrow Becs," he called over his shoulder.

"Bye," I called as I shut the door behind him.

I went into the kitchen and decided to make myself something to eat. I pulled out some chicken and some different types of vegetables and began to chop everything up. I then put the chicken in a pan put some honey and sweet chilli on it and fried it off, lastly I cooked the vegetables off and then mixed it all together, mixing the chicken juices in with everything to give it all flavour. I then grabbed a plate and served everything up. Making sure to save the rest, and put it in the fridge.

I sat down on the kitchen island and started eating, thinking up some more lyrics for the new set. It was going to be a big one for the group, the performances at the start of school always were, it set us up for rest of the school year. But, we always had their biggests crowds at these events, and I loved it. It was a thrill for me performing in front of so many people, hearing everyone singing along to the words of the songs I wrote, it was an amazing feeling.

After I finished I put my plate in the sink, grabbed my leather jacket and walked out the back door. I rummaged in my pocket until, I found my lighter, pulled out the box of cigarettes from my pocket, put one between my lips and lit the end. I filled my lungs with the smoke and then slowly exhaled, watching the grey whisps float off into the sky. I know I shouldn't smoke but it helps me, calms me. It's my time to reflect and I know what you are saying blah blah blah, I've had it all from Stacie, she hated it when I smoked, but I still do it anyway. And I suppose it helps with my badass persona, well that was what Jesse had told me, Stacie had punched him in the arm for that, saying that I shouldn't be encouraged. I laughed at the memory, it was going to be different without her, but I knew she'd always wanted to go to Stanford and if this helped her achieve her dream, I was 100% behind her.

I stood outside letting the cold engulf me, my hands were red and so were my cheeks, but to be honest I didn't care. I always liked the cold, and for some reason it had decided to come early considering it was only early September.

I stayed until the cigarette but was finished with them dropped it in the floor crushing to the ground with the heel of my foot. I kicked it under a small pile of dirt, my parents had no idea that I smoked, they'd lose their shit if they ever found out. After a few more minutes I headed back inside. I was surprised to see my Dad sitting in the lounge, I walked over and sat across from him.

"Hey Dad, what are you doing back home?" I asked.

"Well, I finished work for the day and thought it would be nice to come home and relax, where is your mother?" he asked looking around.

"She's still at work, she's going to be home late," I said, still confused and why my dad was back. He never came home early, ever. Even if he was finished, there was always work to do. Whether, it was late nights, conferences, meetings or work abroad, he never stopped working.

"Dad why are you really home? You're never home," I asked skeptically.

"I told you," he said not making eye contact.

"Dad! Tell me the truth." I said getting annoyed.

"Rebecca, I'm warning you watch your tone." he said sternly.

"Oh fuck off Dad. I'm tired of your lies. It was one simple question, and you can't even answer that. Just leave me alone." I stormed off, I know it might seem irrational, but my Dad had always been about 'being open and honest' but as soon as it referred to him, he'd just lie. I am so fed up with it, and I snapped. I probably shouldn't of sweared, that I agree on, I will definitely get in trouble for that, but right now I didn't care. I just layed down on my bed, picked up my speaker's remote and pressed play, letting the sound of Boyce Avenue feel the room. I closed my eyes and put my hands behind my head, trying to clear my head from everything.

I must have fallen asleep, because I opened my eyes and it read 11pm on my clock, I sighed knowing I wasn't going to fall asleep again. I wondered what, I should do, it wasn't like I could go out...or could I? My car should be back in the garage by now and my parent's room was the other end of the house, they probably wouldn't even hear me. I grabbed my jacket, made sure I had my keys, phone and cigarettes and put my black vans on. I slowly opened my door, checked for any indication of noise and crept out, making sure to avoid the creaky stair on the staircase. I made it all the way to the front door, before I heard a noise. I waited in the shadows until I couldn't hear anything any more, then I pulled down on the door handle and walked outside. Luckily, my car was sitting in the driveway, so I wouldn't have to open the garage.

I ran over to my black Range Rover, yes I did have a Range Rover at 17 the joys of having money, and quietly opened the door. I slid into my all black leather seats and slowly shut the door. I put the keys in the ignition and began to drive away.

I'd been driving for a while, I had no real idea where I was until I ended up outside Shots. It was a bar just outside of town and I luckily knew the owner, his name was Luke and he let me sneak some alcohol, he knew how old I really was, but he said a little drink never hurt no one. I parked the car, and headed in. There was barely anyone there when I walked in. Pleasures of going on a Sunday night, I went over to the bar and sat down on one of the empty bar stools, banged my hand down on the counter and waited for the blonde guy to turn up.

He walked in from the back seconds later, "Becky!" He said in his British voice, he moved here when he was 10 so the accent stayed with him. I glared at him for the use of the nickname, but he just ignored it and put a beer in front of me.

"Thanks Luke," I said as I grabbed the neck of the bottle and drank some, it felt good to have the cold liquid run down my throat.

"So what brings you here? You were here only the other day, not that I'm complaing though," he said with a smile.

"Wanted to get out for a bit, you know. Schools back on tomorrow, so I have a feeling I won't be here as often anymore,"

"Yeah, you say that. You'll be back within a few days we both know that," he said with a laugh.

I took another sip of my beer and felt the weight on my shoulders begin to ease. I took a cigarette out of my pocket and lit it up, I offered one over to Luke but he declined, he didn't really like to smoke when he was working.

We kept taking for another few hours and after a few more beers I decided to head home. I took my wallet out and threw a hundred dollar bill onto the counter.

"Keep this Luke," I said, trying to form at least a coherent sentence. He laughed and pushed it back.

"I don't want your money Becs, keep it."

"No Luke, you've looked after me these past few months and I really appreciate it, so keep it," I said sliding the bill back over. I hopped off the stool, and tried to walk in a straight line to the door. I slowly took it step by step, and I could hear laughing behind me.

"Shut up Asshole," I said, I could just hear him laughing harder. I managed to get to the door, but when I opened it the crisp cool air hit me like a tornado and hit my senses all at once. I propped myself up against the wall and waited for my head to get back to normal.

After around 5 minutes, I stood up straight and went over to my car, well more like stumbled. My head was a little all over the place still but I felt fine to drive so I opened the door and began to drive back home, very slowly.

It took me around 30 minutes until I reached the door of my house. I slowly put my key in the door and waited for it to open, once it did I crept back up the stairs and into my room. Neither of my parents woke up, I looked at my clock and saw that it said 3.30am. I groaned internally knowing School would be even worse with a hangover than it was normally. I mean it wasn't like I hated school, I ruled it. But, it was just the learning that I hated, I got into a lot of trouble at school, but I just got bored easily, and it wasn't my fault that Mr. Jones's class was so boring that I fell asleep. Or that one time when I escaped by climbing the big tree that's at the back of the school, and jumping over the fence, or when I got caught that one time smoking on school grounds. So, yeah I wasn't exactly a role model pupil, I was probably the polar opposite in fact.

 **The Next Day**

I woke up, feeling the after effects of last night. My head was groggy and my limbs felt like hell and I felt sick to my stomach. Yet, I didn't regret it, whenever I was stressed or just generally wanted a drink I went over to Shots. I still remember the first time that I found the place.

It was the first night of the summer in my junior year, my Dad and I had gotten into a fight over my grades that had just come in. They were mainly D's which in my case was pretty good considering how much I actually paid attention, but for my Dad that wasn't good enough. He expected straight A's. But, we all knew that was never going to happen. No matter how hard I tried, which in some cases was quite a lot, it just never really clicked with me. I did have two subjects that I excelled in though, Sports and Music. Both A's but he of course, skipped right over those, he didn't even bat an eyelid.

Except shouting at me for a full on hour saying I was a 'disappointment' or something like that I'll be honest I wasn't really paying any attention. So when he finally decided to stop his droning on, I walked out the house for a 'Therapeutic Walk', meaning I got in my car and drove. Drove, until I had no idea where I was, and it led to me walking inside the bar, which has since been the place where I find solace.

But now I was in my bathroom looking for some aspirin tablets, and my stash of Gatorade, it's always handy for times like these. When I found them, I popped two pills onto my tongue and washed them down, instantly feeling the relief. I braced my hands against the sink, and waited for a few minutes until the spinning feeling in my head had subsided. I looked back over at my clock and saw it was 7.50. Shit. I was going to be late. Oh well, wasn't like I hadn't been late before. I got into my shower and let the hot water cascade down my body. Letting the water take over all my thoughts and feelings, normally when I had a hangover a shower would always make me feel better.

Once I was done, I went back into my room and walked over into my closet to find some clothes to wear for the day. I decided on my usual black attire, a pair of black ripped skinny jeans, a tank top, and my ever-present leather jacket along with some black vans. I grabbed a pair of sunglasses from my growing collection making sure I grabbed my guitar and school bag from the corner of the room. I walked down the stairs, acknowledging that neither of parents were home, out the front door and into my car.

I pulled up into the school parking lot and drove into my space. Yes, my space, the powers I have at this school sometimes even amaze me. I've only ever had one person park in my spot, a freshman last year, and let's just say that he won't be doing that again.

I got out of the car and saw both Jesse and Chicago waiting outside the front of the school, they stopped talking when I approached.

"Hey Becs, how have you been?" Chicago asked as we all walked through the school.

"Good. Getting ready for our show this weekend, did Jess give you the music?"

"Yeah, yeah he did. It sounds incredible Becs, definitely going to get the crowd going for sure,"

"I agree. I have a few more lined up, so I want us in the practice room more or less everyday so we can be ready. I'll see you guys later" I said just as I walked into my class.

When I went in, everyone stopped and stared at me. The teacher stopped talking as I just sauntered in and if nothing had happened, I took my place in the back row and put my feet up on the desk.

"Late as always Mitchell," the teacher called as she moved behind her desk.

The whole class was silent as they awaited my response, "Couldn't have me turning up early now could I Miss?" I said nochently. She chuckled at my response, most teacher's didn't put up with my sarcastic comments, but a few of them did. Those were the ones I actually liked, well tolerated.

The teacher called out everyone's names which we all just gave a tired response of 'here' to. Just as she finished there was a knock at the door, and in walked a girl. I gave her a sideways glance, my shades still darkened everything in the room so I couldn't really see what she looked nor did I really care. I was way too focused at playing candy Crush on my phone to pay any attention. It had played it once and been addicted ever since, it wasn't even like it was fun, it's unbelievably frustrating, yet I still drove herself mad playing it.

The girl that had walked in and introduced herself however I was much too preoccupied to listen to her name, but out of the corner of my eye I saw her sit down in the chair next to me. No-one ever sat in that chair, it was practically known around the school that you didn't sit next to me unless you were either Jesse, Chicago or Stacie, and now with her being in another state it only left the two boys.

"Hi, I'm Chloe" a very chirpy voice said to me. I didn't turn around, this girl was already annoying me and she'd only said three words. I think she got the message though as she left me alone for the rest of registration, thank god.

The bell rung, and I grabbed my bag, slung it over my shoulder and walked out the class. As I walked through the crowds people cleared a path for me, however my morning was quickly ruined by the one and only, Bumper Allen.

"Welcome back, Mitchell," he said with a cocky smile. I sighed, I really couldn't be dealing with him right now, every breathing minute he wanted to try and make my life a 'living hell' or so he kept on telling me.

"Well, come on then Mitchell, what are you waiting for?" he shouted. A large crowd had formed around the two of us, phones were recording and I just shook my head and laughed, he really needed to stop doing this. I dropped my bag by my feet, and walked over to Bumper. He tried to swing a right hook at me, which I quickly blocked and hit him square on the nose. Every time, he really needed to learn. He stumbled back, and I rolled my sleeves up, don't want to get anything dirty now do we, he had crimson red blood pouring from his flared nostrils, his jaw was clenched and he came charging towards me, what he was trying to achieve with this I don't know, but I just sidestepped and pinned his arm behind his back, and pushed him into the lockers, he grunted as I pushed him harder into the cold metal that his face was now pushed up against.

"Now, do I need to remind you of what will happen if you try this again," I growled in his ear. He shook his head fiercely and I let him go. But, just for the fun of it I punched him in the face, he really needed to be taught a lesson, and a nice black eye should do the job. How a 5ft 2 girl managed to do that you ask, well that's for a little bit later on in our story.

He was bent over on the floor, and I walked back over to my bag and saw both Jesse and Chicago grinning at me, I was about to go over to them when the announcement speaker echoed around the school.

"Beca Mitchell, report to the Principal's office, Beca Mitchell, report to the Principal's office." It repeated. I shrugged over at the two boys, slid my shades back over my eyes and navigated my way through the crowd until I reached the office that I had become oh so familiar with.

I pushed it open and was met with the headteacher, Mr Matthews.

"Beca, sunglasses please," he said. I huffed in response but put them in the neck of my shirt.

"What's up Uncle David?" I asked. Oh yeah, he was my uncle, the main reason I hadn't been kicked out of the school.

"Well we have a new student with us and I was wondering if your wouldn't mind showing her the ropes?" He asked.

"Why?" I asked, it wasn't like I was the on the honour roll or anything. I probably wasn't the best person to give this school any good credit.

"Let's just say its will make up for your little...disagreement in the hallway this morning," he said turning back to his computer.

"Fine." I agreed, I really didn't want to have a detention on the first day back, I had practice to attend.

"Well then Beca, I'd like to introduce you to Ms. Chloe Beale," I turned my head and only just noticed the presence of another person who had been there the entire time.

She had fiery red hair and these incredible blue eyes, like the ocean. She was insanely hot, probably one of the hottest looking girls here. Not to mention her incredible looking body, that I was subtly checking out. She stood up and held her hand out supposedly for me to shake.

I looked down at it, then back at her. I turned around and walked to the door, "Let's get moving red, we don't have all day," I said with a smirk.

She quickly grabbed her stuff as I held open the door.

We walked out me slightly ahead and her tailing behind looking at her surroundings.

I explained each department in minimal detail, one because I couldn't be bothered to give an in-depth description, and two because I had no idea what each department actually did. All I do is show up to the lessons, well sometimes, it's not like I actually pay any attention to what's going on.

After showing Chloe everything around the school we went outside to have a look at the sports facilities. She was apparently really athletic, and it showed, she did Cheerleading at her old school, which in my opinion isn't a sport but there you go.

After looking around for about an hour I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out a cigarette along with my lighter. I put it to my lips and watched the little flame tinge the end until it began to smoke.

I looked out of the corner of my eye and saw Chloe awkwardly standing there, clearly not knowing what to do.

"You don't mind do you?" I asked as I blew out a greyish cloud.

"Oh no, no. You're all good." She said with a wave of her hand.

"Want one?" I offered.

"No. I'm fine thank you," she replied.

I finished up and dig out a strawberry flavoured piece of chewing gum, the only type I'd have, weird I know.

We headed back inside, and I asked for her schedule, so she'd know where she was supposed to go. I wasn't a complete ass all the time, just most of the time.

I found out she had the rest of History with , same as me then Math with Miss Posen with me also then she was by herself for the rest of the day.

I led her to the history department, not making any effort to rush. When we finally arrived I pushed the door open and walked inside, Chloe tailing behind me.

"Ms. Mitchell," greeted.

"Alright Mr.J," I responded, walking to my seat in the back row.

Chloe followed behind me, looking a little shy. "Oh Mr. J. We got a freshman with us," I gestured behind me.

"Oh yes, I was told that I might have a new student with us today. Well, introduce yourself please," he said moving back to his place at the front of the class

"Erm, my name is Chloe Beale, I just moved here from Florida," she said with smile.

"Well Chloe, please take a seat next to , I'm sure she'll take good care of you," the class all laughed at his comment, me included.

Chloe obviously looked confused, as well as .

You see, I am what they call a womaniser, a player if you will. I have been with boys and girls, but I prefer girls. Boys are way too rough for my liking, and they are all just generally quite immature. I've been with the majority of the girls in my year a few younger and one or two college girls, so I knew what I was doing in that department.

I'd be with the girls for about a week or so then leave them, I'd more or less have a new girl on my arm every week. Mean, I suppose but it was just the way I operated.

Chloe was looking at me with a questioning look, but I just shrugged it off, she didn't need to know my ways, just yet. It was only her first day after all.

I looked around the class, everyone was taking down notes, well everyone except me. I was already bored, and now I had resulted to tapping my pencil on the table to a beat of a song I was working on. I had zoned out of the lesson and was in my own world, lyrics were being formed and the melody being created, each individual layer of the song being put together. It was probably my favourite part of creating a song next to performing it. Just the feeling of knowing it was something you created from a scratch and then seeing it as a fully completed song.

I was brought out of my thoughts by a loud shouting, "Beca! Beca! Mitchell!"

I snapped my head forward, and saw a very angry looking Mr. Jenkins, "Did you find something more interesting to think about than my lesson, ?" He asked arms folded.

30 pairs of eyes all turned and stared at me waiting for an answer.

"Do you really want me to answer that Sir?" I said. A few people later out a chuckle which they muffled by keeping their putting their hands over the mouths.

"Outside now!" He barked, I sighed, grabbed my stuff and walked out turning my head to give a wink at everyone as closed the door behind me.

"Start paying attention, Beca. This is your final year then you are finally able to leave. If you continue this behaviour I can ensure that your last year won't be very enjoyable," he warned. His face was stern, I'd heard this speech multiple times before so by now my response was autopilot.

"Not like it was going to be enjoyable anyway?" I claimed, folding my arms. He put his hand to his forehead.

"Principal's office now'" he said walking back into the classroom. I walked off with a smirk, Uncle David never shouted at me, got a bit annoyed sure, but never shouted so going there wasn't a problem to me, I'd rather be there than in my boring class.

I made my way down the hall and knocked on the door, a loud "come in" permitted her entrance. I walked, dropped my bag down on the floor and slumped down into the chair opposite Uncle David. He was just staring at me, I gave him a brazen smile in response. He rubbed his temple and tried to think of something to say, considering I'd only been there less than 2 hours ago.

"Do I even want to know Beca?"

"Eh probably not," I said with a smile.

"Well come on then, I guess I should know why my niece is in my office, again I might add. Is this going to be a repeat of last year?"

I pretended to contemplate it, "Probably. But it's not my fault lessons could fucking kill someone with how boring they are,"

"Language," was all he said. He went back to his computer for a while, before speaking again. "Beca this needs to stop. I'm going to give you a ultimatum, you get more than 6 detentions this year, I'm going to pull you from the soccer team,"

"What?!" I shouted.

Oh yeah, I play soccer to, I'm Barden's star player and youngest captain ever being given the role in my sophomore year.

So I play soccer, am in a kick ass band and am an all round badass, it's a real hit with the ladies I'm telling you.

"Bec—,"

"No! You can't do that!"

"I think you'll find I can, I already do enough by not telling your Dad how much trouble you get in, but it's getting out of control Beca. So, behave and you continue to play on the team,"

"Fine," I said in a huff. I couldn't believe this guy.

"Now where are you off to next?" He asked looking hopeful that I wouldn't already be making a dent in his offer.

"Maths." I said bluntly. I hated Maths. Period. It was pointless and I saw zero use in trying to find x, it's not like I'm going to be walking down the street one day and someone asks me to figure out an algebra problem is it?! No! So why do it?!

"With?" He asked worriedly, knowing my particular despise for the subject and also the place where the majority of my detentions had come from.

" ," I said with a smirk. Me and had a...special relationship, she hated me and I hated her, it was a bloodbath whenever I was in her lessons, even when I wasn't that bad in lessons she still found a way to get me in trouble. So long story short we hated each other.

Uncle David just groaned, "Beca, I'm going to really need you to try for me, okay. I know you and Ms. Posen hate each other but you are going to have to get over it." He said while I just stared at him in disbelief,

"I DO try, she's just a psycho!" I said, these were all facts she once went absolutely apeshit when I told her I 'disrespected' Pythagoras Theorem, by saying it's just a triangle, and if I was that bothered about the length of it, then I'd just measure it! She then proceeded to scream at me for a full on 15 minutes, while I just stared at her blankly not really caring and ignoring everything she was saying.

"Right, go to Lessons. Now! And I don't want to see you in here again," he said sternly, turning back to his computer.

I grabbed my stuff, and walked out with a smirk. I stopped in the doorway, "I wouldn't count on it," was the last thing I said before closing the door behind me.

I headed off to Maths, I was already late which would end up with a telling off from the devil herself but did I care? No. So I casually walked in, ignoring the death stares I was receiving from the blonde teacher. I walked down to the back row and slouched down into the seat a scowl on my face.

I noticed Chloe sitting in the front row, great. I already had a feeling she was one of the those good girls, straight A's, probably doesn't swear, never drinks.

So basically the polar opposite of me.

"Mitchell, want to explain why you are late?" She said angrily, she was only 2 minutes late, what was the big deal?

"Principal's office," I said rolling my eyes.

"Of course," she said with a small laugh, I know super professional.

"Meaning?" I shot back, the whole class's attention was now caught all looking between them as they fired back at one another.

"You always seem to end up there don't you?" She said in a condescending tone.

I was about to reply but my Uncle's deal made its way into my mind, I couldn't afford to lose out on soccer this year. So I bit my tongue and sat in my seat, jaw clenched and arms forward.

Ms. Posen had a smug grin on her face which I so desperately wanted to smack off.

By the end of the lesson I'd done nothing, I'd managed (was forced) to write down the title and the date and do 5 questions and that was about it. I'd looked over at the new redhead a few times, and as I predicted she was incredible at Maths, she practically answered every question at ease and may have been impressed Satan's spawn herself.

The bell finally rang and I rushed out, on the way to my locker I bumped into Coach Conners.

"Mitchell, we have an emergency meeting in 10 minutes," was all he said as he walked off. Shoot. I quickly dig out my phone from my jacket and texted Jesse.

 **Beca [12.15] Practice is off for today, meet at mine after school**

I sent it, put my phone back in my pocket and went in the direction of the school sports meeting conference. Barden was q big in sports, we were in all the top divisions with lots of our students getting scholarships for collages. So, the school had built the PE department their own meeting areas where most of the business type stuff went down.

I walked in and saw our entire squad there.

They all had pretty serious looks on their faces, not looking happy.

"Guys, what's all this about?" I said sitting down.

"Beca, the Principal has had a word and told me all about this little...ultimatum that he has given you," he sighed as he said this, "Beca...this can't keep happening, if I hear any particular bad behaviour from you, I'm sorry but I will pull you as Captain. You are exceptional on the pitch, but a good captain needs to be exceptional off the pitch as well. We need you Mitchell. Don't screw it up," he warned. With that he left, and the other girls started filling out as well. Well fuck.

That wasn't what I expected. I stormed out slamming the door behind me, this day couldn't possibly get worse. I was the best player on that team, they needed me. No one else on that team was close to being able to captain that team, I mean don't get me wrong we are one of the best teams in the state, but none of them had the leadership skills to take over. I relasidr hadn't had anything to eat so I headed over to the canteen, hoping nothing else would go wrong.

I weaved my way through the masses of students, grabbed an apple and some chocolate milk and went over to my table. No one else dared to sit at my table except Jesse, Chicago, and Stacie before she left, but as I made my way over I saw red hair. I instantly got mad. Maybe it was the warning of having my role as captain taken away and the way Ms. Posen spoke to me, but I was really mad. Who does this girl think she is?!

I sat down and slammed my tray down.

"Who wants to explain what's going on here?" Both Jesse and Chicago looked down guilty, they knew the rules.

"Well?" I was still waiting on my answer.

"She's new Beca, thought we'd help her out a bit," Jesse said. Chloe looked extremely awkward and almost scared by my sudden outburst. I sort of felt bad now, oh well.

"I can see that," I said. I thought for a minute when the redheads voice spoke up.

"I'm just going to get going, sorry about invading your table," she said apologetically, she went to pick up her tray before I stopped her.

"Hold up Red. You can stay," I said taking a bite of my apple.

"Thank you," She said almost thankful that I'd offered her a place on my table.

"So...Red. What brings you to hell?" I said with a smirk.

She smiled back, "Well I'm from Tampa, Florida. My brothers in the army, and he got his base here so we moved with him, we used to travel a bit but we decided to stay in one place," she explained.

"Oh nice," Jesse said, taking an interest. Chicago joined their conversation while I just sat and stayed silent, it was how she was in most social situations.

The topic of the Back To School Bash came up and my attention was caught.

"You should totally come, your first official Barden Party," Chicago said, "We are performing as well!" He mentioned

"Performing," Chloe questioned.

"Yeah, we are all in a band," Jesse pitched in.

"No, way! That's so cool!" Chloe exclaimed.

"Yeah ATC," Chicago said, he went on to explain all of our roles in the band, and some of the places that we play.

"Well I'll come down for sure," Chloe said with a smile, and for some reason my insides felt strange. Was I excited that this new girl wanted to come? It was like I felt the desire to impress her, like I wanted to show her how good I was. And I didn't like it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, guys, I hope you enjoy this chapter, sorry it took a while to post.**

 **I have another book out called Business Manager if anyone wanted to check that out, it's much further along, I'm currently working on chapter 19, but apart from that on with the show!**

 **Chapter 2**

It was the night of the back to school bash, and the band and I were going to be performing tonight. Barden was known for the parties that they held, there was always a theme and it would be held at the school's football stadium. It was massive and the school had agreed to let them use it, as long as all rubbish would be cleared. The theme for this year was Blackout, so everyone was required to black and the only lights would be the ones on the stage for the band so they could see. It was definitely going to be an interesting night.

I had stuck to my 'no detention' rule as best as I could and just stayed quiet in most of my lessons, much to General Posen's happiness. She'd stayed captain of the soccer team, given that she kept up her behaviour, let's just say school had never been more boring. But, since the school year had started I'd already been with 5 girls, each of them going the same way they all did; a drink at the bar, then take them back to their place, a night of Beca Mitchell, then I leave before they are awake. Yet at school the next day they still end up talking to me, no matter how many times I sleep with them and leave the next day.

Me, Jesse and Chicago had been rehearsing most lunchtimes and our set list had been sorted out, with a few new songs being added along with some of the crowd favourites. Currently, I was in my car driving down to the stadium, I had my guitar and keyboard in the boot, while Jesse and Chicago were taking their guitars and drums in Chic's truck, it had a massive boot so they took the bigger instruments with them. I was just pulling in my space when I spotted a redhead walking into the stadium, from what I could see she had a short black dress and matching thigh high boots, matching the blackout theme of the night. My breath hitched when I took in what she had on, it suited her perfectly and made her ocean blue eyes pop.

I hopped out, my eyes still on her, except I noticed she had yet to go in. My phone buzzed in my jacket pocket, I pulled it out and saw the message that had appeared on the screen.

 **Sexy Redhead [8.01] Hey, are you guys here yet? x**

Oh yeah, I managed to get her number before we left the canteen on the first day. Chicago had told me I could 'totally hit that' and who was I to turn down a girl's number, however any time I'd tried to talk to her or do anything she'd turned me down and I was getting very sexually frustrated. I've never been turned down yet, the one girl I want, I can't get. But, I always get what I want, I might just have to take my time with this one.

I went into my messages and typed out my answer, shooting her one last glance before hitting the send button.

 **Mystery Girl [8.02] 12 o'clock red ;)**

I smirked to myself watching her turn to look at me, giving me a wave as she put her phone away and beginning to walk over. I had moved to the boot and had begun to pull my jet black guitar out, I had both an acoustic and electric, both used for certain songs that we'd be playing throughout the night.

"Hey, Red," I said with a smile.

"Hey," she said leaning up against my car.

Over the past week, we'd grown substantially close, compared to my past friendships which almost always ended up in a pit of flames and I was beginning to enjoy her company as a friend as well as wanting to sleep with her. She was really nice, the polar opposite to me but as Jesse said, we balanced each other out, she was funny and made me want to actually want to learn about her more than just be with her. It was a strange feeling but I was gradually getting used to it, and it was now becoming a nice feeling. Not to mention she was a complete flirt, constantly teasing, yet remain innocent, it confused her yet intoxicated her,

"What time are you on tonight?" Chloe said moving closer to me, I could smell the perfume radiating off of her and it was seriously muddling my senses. It took me a few seconds to respond, but when I came back to reality I was met with Chloe and her lip held between her teeth, it made my knees weak but I managed to pull myself together and respond.

"30 minutes,"

"Save a song for me," Chloe said before walking off with a wave of her hand and a sway in her hips. This girl is going to end me.

"You going to get moving Mitchell," a voice said from behind. I huffed in response and was met with a very amused Chicago and Jesse, wide grins on both their faces.

"You still haven't got that yet?" Jesse asked with a laugh knowing the answer.

"Fuck off, Jess," I said flipping him off.

"Well, get your head out of la la land, and get this show on the road," Chic said gesturing to the individual pieces of drums in his hand. I grabbed the rest of my stuff, shut the boot and walked off with the boys, guitar case in hand. We all had fairly similar outfits on, black ripped jeans, a short sleeved t-shirt and black high-top converse, the only difference being that I had on my leather jacket. Jesse claiming that I didn't even dress up and looked just like normal, in which I just flipped him off.

We had made it through the front gates and had begun to set up on stage, other students weren't allowed in yet, the party started at 8.30 so we didn't have long before hundreds of teenagers would be pilling in.

There were buckets of beer and who knows what else all across the field, something the school hadn't signed up for, what they don't know won't hurt them, and if they do, I can probably convince Uncle David to let us off. It wouldn't be a party without the alcohol.

As the opening time got closer I called Jess and Chic into a huddle and grabbed three coroners from the bucket nearby. It was our pre-performance ritual.

"Right, you guys ready?" I asked as we all popped the tops off.

"Let's go!" Jesse shouted.

We all downed our drinks in record time and stepped on the stage. In the few minutes, we'd been gone the stadium had become packed. Hundreds of high schoolers were crowded all around the makeshift stage and were all chanting our band's name.

"ATC! ATC! ATC!"

"Ready?" Chicago asked one last time before we headed out.

"Born ready," Jesse responded, we all walked out to the loud cheers that we Bly increased when they saw us. We jumped up and down getting the crowd going.

"How we all doing tonight?!" I shouted into the microphone that had been set up for us.

We received a loud cheer in response.

"Okay so let's start the night off with an old favourite of ours," I said into the mic, I heard the beginning of the electric guitar from Jesse and the drums from Chicago and sang the opening lines.

 **Gravity - Against the current**

Do you remember feeling invincible?

When there was trouble it was us against the world

We kept running, running through the night

Chasing the sun 'til anything felt right

When the crowd realised what song it was they all began singing along. It was an amazing feeling knowing the crowd was singing the song along with me.

Can you save me now?

I get lost up in the clouds

Can you save me now?

You were my gravity

Can you save me now?

When the ground drops out I get lost in the clouds

Save me now

You were my gravity

Now my world is shattering

I turned to face Chicago and Jesse both sporting wide smiles as they continued playing, occasionally pitching in with the lyrics as the song progressed.

Ooooh, you were my gravity

Ooooh, you were my gravity

You left me out there with no one but myself

In an open field for the lightning to strike me down

I was the moon, you were the sun

I can't seem to shine now that you're gone

Now I'm out of orbit cause you left without warning

Are you somewhere better now?

Can you save me now?

I get lost up in the clouds

Can you save me now?

You were my gravity

Can you save me now?

When the ground drops out I get lost in the clouds

Save me now

You were my gravity

Now my world is shattering

The crowd was cheering and screaming our names, I could see people dancing but it was hard to see anyone in particular as it just looked like a wave of darkness from all the black clothing everyone had on, except one person, and she had fiery red hair and bright blue eyes

Ooooh, you were my gravity

Ooooh, you were my gravity

When you went away, thought I'd never be the same

Would the nightmare ever end?

If I could do it again I wouldn't change a thing 'cause it's made me who I am

And now I'm shattering

Can you save me now?

When the ground drops out I get lost in the clouds

Save me now

You were my gravity

Can you save me now?

When the ground drops out I get lost in the clouds

Save me now

You were my gravity

Now my world is shattering

Ooooh, now my world is shattering

Ooooh, you were my gravity

We finished our first song with a massive cheer from the crowd, this was going to be a good night I could already tell. I was on a high from performing and I thanked the crowd, before beginning our next song.

An hour later we were on our final song for the night, and it was an original, it was one of my newer ones that I'd recently written. Counting Stars had gone down really well and definitely got the crowd going, Chloe had been looking at me for most of the night and I found it hard to keep my eyes off her, there was something just so entrancing about the girl and it was driving her insane.

"Okay everyone, we've got one more song for tonight, this one is brand new one and we haven't performed this one to anyone yet so we hope you enjoy," I called out, there were some boos from the crowd at the news of it being our final song, but I picked up my electric guitar from its stand on stage, before nodding to the guys. I smiled when I played the first few strings the familiar melody filling my ears, I moved up close to the mic and began to sing.

 **Talk - Against The Current**

You say you adore me,

but your eyes tell a story I've heard before.

And damn boy you must think I'm dumb

as if I didn't know about the things you've done.

I clasped the mic with one hand as the other played the strings, I was bouncing on the spot as the first verse played, knowing the music would soon pick up I readied myself for the rest for the performance.

Got a girl in every city,

but somehow you're still lonely.

I'm not the one to sit around waiting by my phone

while you're wasted telling other girls they're beautiful.

So why don't we just call it what it is?

We both know we're getting what we give.

You say you really wanna change,

but all you do is talk, talk, talk then walk the same way.

I say what you don't wanna say:

I think we better stop, stop, stop before it's too late.

When I'd written the song I'd didn't really have anything in mind, I just pictured different people going through different situations and then using it for my music, sort of like having my own world and converting it into lyrics and a melody.

Don't say you wanna stay forever.

We both know that I know you better.

You say you really wanna change,

but all you do is talk, talk, talk...

Talk, talk, talk, talk!

I say I don't want this,

but I know that I miss you when you're gone

and being tangled up in those sheets

but I know that you're not what's good for me.

So why don't we just call it what it is?

'Cause everybody knows you're full of shit.

You say you really wanna change,

but all you do is talk, talk, talk then walk the same way.

I say what you don't wanna say:

I think we better stop, stop, stop before it's too late.

Don't say you wanna stay forever.

We both know that I know you better.

You say you really wanna change,

but all you do is talk, talk, talk...

Talk, talk, talk, talk!

Baby you know all you do

is keep talking me back to you.

Your words don't mean a thing

'cause I'm done listening.

All you do is talk

All you do is talk

All you ever do is talk, talk, talk, talk

The crowd were all jumping up and down clearly enjoying the song, it made me smile knowing that everything me and the guys had down to make this night a success had paid off.

You say you really wanna change,

but all you do is talk, talk, talk then walk the same way.

I say what you don't wanna say:

I think we better stop, stop, stop before it's too late.

Don't say you wanna stay forever.

We both know that I know you better.

You say you really wanna change,

but all you do is talk, talk, talk...

Talk, talk, talk, talk!

Talk, talk, talk, yeah

We ended the night with a massive cheer from the crowd, Jesse and Chicago joined me at the front of the stage and we all took a bow.

"Thank you for all turning up tonight for the back to school bash, I hope you enjoy the rest of your night!" I said out of breath from the set we just performed, we received another loud cheer in response.

We all jogged off stage wide smiles on all our faces. "Another incredible set, Becs, well done," Chic said and clapped me on the back moving off to get another beer.

"Yeah, they really enjoyed the last song. You did a great job on it," Jesse praised.

"Thank you, it's probably one of my favourites, to be honest. Now, let's go have fun, I want to get a few drinks in me," I said as we walked in the direction of the grounds of the stadium.

We all walked out and I grabbed a beer from one of the buckets that were rapidly becoming empty, I looked at the floor and saw it littered with empty bottles and shook my head with a small laugh, whoever was due to clean this place before school began on Monday is going to have one hell of a job because the entire field was trashed, and that was only what I could see.

I managed my way through the crowds and found myself searching for a certain redhead, and I knew it was wrong. I knew I was bad for her, I knew she'd get hurt if she was with me, and I knew it was a bad idea, but I couldn't stop myself.

I clearly misjudged the number of people that were here because I felt like I'd been searching for ages. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, I pulled it out and smiled at the name on the screen.

 **Sexy Redhead [10.58] Hey Rockstar! You know you're looking too hard, turn around.**

I spun around and saw a smirking redhead standing there.

"Who said I was looking for you?" I asked with a smile.

"Just a hunch," she responded with a shrug, I just laughed shaking my head. I'd never met anyone like her, she was...different. She didn't just try and flirt with me like every other girl or act a certain way around me that I knew was fake, she was just her. Flirty yet innocent, making me want to chase her, something I wasn't exactly used to.

The question was, do I give into my desires or do I bury them for her own good?

"Do you want to take a walk?" I asked, wanting to get away from the loudness and buzz of the party that I normally ended up escaping anyway.

"Sure," she agreed, we walked side by side until we reached the exit.

"So how are you finding it here?" I asked, shoving my hands into my pockets.

"It's nice, it's big that's for sure. But I'm getting used to it, and I'm trying out for cheer next week so hopefully that will go well," Chloe said excitement radiating off her, it was cool seeing her truly invested about her passion, sort of like me with music. It was nice to see every once in a while.

"Well I'm sure you'll get in, you were captain at your old school right?" I asked as we walked around the outside of the stadium, just being in each other's company.

"Yep. I loved it, it was nice being part of a team, and they were all such great girls', do you know what they are like here?"

"They are nice enough I suppose, a bit over the top on the enthusiasm scale but that's a cheerleader for you," I said remembering the many encounters I'd had with the cheer squad, both in and outside of school, if you know what I mean.

Chloe put her hand on her chest faking her hurt, "All cheerleaders?"

"Yep," I asked popping the p.

"And where do I fall on this scale of enthusiasm?" She asked with a smirk. I pretended to have a long think about it and looked her up and down as if I was analysing her.

"Hmm. Well on a scale from one to ten I'd have to say around an 8," I said pretending to be sincere.

"An 8, well we can't have that, I'm going to have to step up my game," she replied carrying on the joke. That was another thing, she was just so easy to talk to, any other girl had just been trying too hard but with her, it was like I could relax a bit and be myself. A silence fell over us for a moment, where neither of us felt the need to speak, just to be there, and it was nice. I looked up at the sky and saw all the stars that were out, sparkling under the moonlight. I tried to think back to the last time, I'd just appreciated everything around me and ended up coming short.

"So Beca Mitchell," Chloe said breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Chloe Beale," I replied looking at her as we continued walking our hands noticeably getting closer, almost touching.

"What's your story?"

"I don't have one," I answered simply.

"Bullshit," she called. I'd never heard anything so sexy as that come out of anyone's mouth before. Seeing the redhead curse, just made me even more sexually frustrated than I already was but I reminded myself that I was no good for her, she wouldn't be safe with me, and that seemed to do the trick.

"Excuse me?" I questioned

"Bullshit, we all have a story. So, Mitchell, what's yours?" She asked again, determined to find out.

"Would you believe me if I said I was just an all-around badass?" I asked with a confident smirk.

"Nope." Was all she said in response with a shake of her head.

I sighed playfully, "Well, what do you want to know?"

She thought for a while before saying, "Your music."

"Okay well, I found my love of music at a really young age probably around 5 or 6. I was bought my first guitar at 7, then a piano at 8. It was my life, well still is my life. I grew to incorporate music into everything I did, and as I got older I realised that music is all around us, from the tapping of someone's foot to the ticking of a clock, it's always there. When I was around 9 or 10 I began writing songs, they were all rubbish back then, but I kept at, perfecting every line and every note until I was satisfied and I suppose that's where a lot of the things I write nowadays come from," I said, that was probably the most I've said to the girl all at one time. Or anyone, in fact, not many people knew that I wrote songs at such a young age, it was quite a personal thing for me, but I find myself opening up to her.

"What about your band, when did all that start?"

"The first year of high school, me and Jesse had been friends in middle school and I found out he played guitar and piano like me, so we began singing together sometimes and we'd make up songs and stuff, the one day we were in the practice room and Chicago walked in, we ended up talking music and by the next day we were in a band, we began performing at small places like pizza houses and stuff like that, then we moved on to a few bigger venues then private vents then before we knew it people would come from other towns and watch us play. We perform twice a month, sometimes three and we've been a success ever since, and a few of our songs are on Itunes so that's pretty cool," I finished, taking a big breath I seemed to be an open book tonight.

"Wow, that's so cool, I never knew you've been together so long, and I might end up buying a few of your songs," She said with a wink.

"No need," I added, she turned to me confused, "I can get you a CD, if you want that is," she said nerves suddenly taking over.

"Yeah...I'd...I'd like that, thank you," she said with a smile, I nodded in response.

"So do you want to know anything else?" I found myself offering.

"What else do you do for fun other than music?"

"Well I'm the captain of the soccer team, have been for around 2 and a half years now. It was something I did as a kid a lot then when I came here I joined the team, it was something as well as music, that I was able to put everything into. I love being part of a team, with the bond and everything, I'm glad I have that. We won nationals last year and my shirt is hanging in the hall of fame, so it's nice that I have something like that here, in memory for when I leave. Sort of like a legacy."

"Well aren't you full of secrets," Chloe said with a wink.

"You have no idea," I whispered, my thoughts going back to the reason I know I needed to stay away.

I looked over to Chloe and she was rubbing her hands up and down her arms, I could see she had goosebumps and noticed the air had chilled significantly, I shook my jacket off and wrapped it over here shoulders, she looked over and smiled at me, clinging to the edges and tugging it further to cover herself.

No words were spoken yet so so much was said in that small moment.

Before they knew it they had walked the entire way around the stadium, and from the loud noise radiating from inside indicated that the party was still in full swing.

"So..." I said nervously, not really knowing what to say, something that I wasn't used to.

"So, I guess I'll see you around, huh?" Chloe said shyly.

"Yeah, I guess you will Red," Chloe moved to give my jacket back but I stopped her, "Keep it. It looks good on you." I said.

"Thank you," she said, both of us struggling to fill the air, "Well I'm going to get going," Chloe drew out.

"See you," I said with a small wave. She walked off and turned around and banged my head against the wall.

"Ughh. What the fuck was that Mitchell, good God. Get a grip," I was interrupted by my phone ringing, the caller ID was unknown and I sighed.

"What, do you want?" I said annoyed.

"We need you here in 30 minutes."

"What?! No, it's my night off,"

"I don't care, you need to get here, you know the rules."

"Fine. I'll be there in 20. I want something in return for this though," I said before cutting the call.

I stormed over to my car and started the engine. I pulled out of the car park, and raced down the freeway, my knuckles white from rage.

 **Where do you guys think she is going? Reviews are much appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

U.F.C. The Underground Fight Club was one of the biggest organisations across the state. There were over 100 members, all led by the managing director, Maddox, he was a tall muscled man, his arms covered in tattoos, and his hair shaved into a buzzcut. He was a former military veteran, then after he got shot in the arm, his days were over. It had torn too much of the muscle and tissue to be repaired and he had been discharged. He started a small fight club with a few of his old friends then it had suddenly grown and month by month more and more people got involved.

But as it got bigger, it drew more attention, and with more attention came more problems. More of these 'clubs' started to challenge them, which was illegal. Underground fighting in Georgia was strictly forbidden, however, Maddox had never backed down from a challenge and the law wasn't going to change that, he put his club underground, the authorities had no clue they existed and they now had a league between all the fighters. It was violet, and the majority of the time illegal deals were being made during the fights, exclusive members were allowed to come down and watch and massive bets were placed on the competitors. It became a business for Maddox and he had power, he was respected and people looked up to him. However it was a dangerous business, the lengths people would go to for money were unbelievable and the pressure they had to win their fights were second to none.

I had stumbled upon the club 2 years ago, I had been down in the forest, there was a hidden door that was covered by leaves and dirt, but I brushed it all aside and heaved the huge metal door open, it was pitch black, but I cautiously walked through, hearing muffled voices at the other end. I kept going, the voices getting louder as I got closer.

As soon as I came into the light, everyone stopped, they had been training, people holding punch bags and sticks, clearly practising some sort of martial art. Two men quickly grabbed ahold of me and shoved my back against the wall, that was probably one of the scariest moments of my life, the two guys were tall and muscles bulging out of their arms, and the other 50 or so people that were there they were all giving her death stares.

She tried to struggle against them, but that clearly wasn't working since her back was still firmly planted against the wall. She was then picked up by her arms and dragged into a small room near the back. A chair was pulled up and I was tied up, my wrists bound by tape and my legs strapped together.

"What is your name?" A man asked sternly, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Who are you, people?" I countered.

The man clearly had a short temper because he slammed his hands down on the arms of my chair angrily.

"People you don't want to upset me, so I suggest you answer my question. Who are you?"

"Beca Mitchell," I said, his raging anger had scared me.

"Well, Beca Mitchell, what the hell were you doing in our neck of the woods?"

"Your entrance wasn't exactly secret, whoever covered it did a pretty shit job," I said truthfully, but this only seemed to anger him more.

"Get me, Banks. Now!" He ordered. A man ran out the door in the direction of all the other people who had gone back to training. He returned quickly holding a scared looking man by the scruff of his neck and throwing him to the ground. I flinched as his body made contact with the hard concrete. He was kicked. Once. Twice. I screwed my eyes shut trying to block out the images of his pained expression as the hard boots of the 'leader' aimed at his ribs. He then picked him up and threw him against the wall, his body slumping as he tried to gain his balance.

He then pulled out a gun, and with a single shot, the man fell to the floor, blood sprayed over the wall and pooled on the floor. I felt sick, my insides were churning and my brain was screaming for me to find a way out of this, but any possible solution that came to mind, ended up in me being dead on the floor, in the same condition as the unfortunate man opposite me.

So I stayed put.

The man then approached me, stuffing his gun into the back of his belt. I gulped loudly.

"Now, Mitchell. You probably just made the worst mistake of your life walking through that door, you are one of us now, whether you like it or not. If you breathe a single word of this to anyone, you will be joining Adams over here, understand?" He said with a smile as if that was going to comfort me.

I was now one of the best underground fighters in the state and country. My name was legendary in the industry, and I was respected amongst the community, I had power. But not as much as Maddox, who had been the one two years ago that brought me into the club. I had learnt martial art skills, weapons training and any other skills I would need. It was a dangerous life that I lived, and Jesse was the only one who knew. It all happened after one particularly bad fight in my amateur days resulting in me having a horrendous black eye and a cut cheek as well as several more bruises on my body.

He had flipped his shit when he saw me, he'd wanted to phone the police after I told him I'd been in a fight, but I'd had to tell him the truth in fear of him getting the authorities involved. I have been training with Maddox for about a year at that point, managing to keep it away from my parents as well as Chicago and Jesse, it hadn't been too hard to keep it from my parents since they were never there, but with Jesse, I had to make a quick decision.

I grabbed him and dragged him into an ally, he was beyond confused but once I told him he seemed to get it, the mysterious phone calls, sudden disappearances and bruises. He had been fully against it saying how dangerous it was, but I talked with it and he agreed to keep my secret safe, so he became my go-to person if I had any problems.

But now I was driving down to the clubhouse, my hands white from gripping so hard and my jaw clenched. As soon as my tyres ground against the gravel outside, I turned my engine off and rushed inside. I stormed through the door, looking for Maddox. I was so angry, I told him I wasn't going to fight, yet he pushed me. So I went into the changing room and undressed slipping into my fighting gear, black shorts and a black sports bra which showed off my toned abs. I tapped my hands up and walked in the direction of the ring, where the fight would be held.

As I got closer I saw Maddox standing there talking to a few of my fellow fighters. I walked over to him and crossed my arms and raised my eyebrow, staring up at him, waiting for an explanation.

"It was a last minute thing, Mitchell. You know the deal, I can't control the way these things fall sometimes. If it's worth anything I heard we have some big bidders in the audience, so if you win you can expect a large paycheck," He offered.

"When I win, you mean?" I asked challengingly.

"Go smash it, Mitchell," he said pushing me towards the ring with a smile on his face. HE's become a carer for me since I'd been here, we had our moments of course, but it was like a family here sometimes, we had each other's backs. He'd seemed terrifying when I'd first met him...well I mean he did threaten to kill me but that's beside the point, we'd come a long way since then, he looked out for me.

I stepped into the ring and was met with my opponent and oldest rival, Brooke Hunter. She was fierce and aggressive, she had no mercy on her competitors. Her eyes tore into me, but I shook any lingering nerves out and focused. I took note of her footwork waiting for her to telegraph a move, it was one of my strengths, being able to know what she'd do before it happened. It was also one of the major factors in why I was the best, but this girl pushed me to my limits with her technique and speed. She was light on her feet, and each hit was executed to perfection.

She slightly moved her left foot forward and threw a left hook out, which I quickly defended and jabbed her straight through the middle. She grunted, and her eyes narrowed in on me. This is war. The fight seemed to be a lot of hits and counter hits, I had a black eye and a few scratches but nothing too heavy, she sported a bruised a cheek and had a limp on her right foot.

Underground fighting was different from any other kind of fighting sports because everything was allowed, any sort of martial arts or boxing. And you could hit anywhere on the body, hence Brooke's limping leg, I had swept her from the ground and knocked her to the floor, then stamped my leg down, I had heard a small crack but she got up anyway and continued, but I could see the pain on her face, it was killing her, she didn't want to back down, no matter how much it pained her. I just kept light on my toes, my cardio was pretty impressive so I managed to keep my energy levels up and remain strong and alert but my hits were becoming a little less accurate and a bit more on the wild side.

We had been going for another 15 minutes and our breaths were now coming in short and raggedy. My guard had dropped considerately, and my hits and weakened a lot. Brooke looked the same but as we were both as stubborn as one another we refused to give up, giving up was as bad as losing and I don't take losing well, ask anyone. The last time I lost a match - 1 and a half years ago - I ended up in a jail cell. Not fun. But let's not dive into that.

Back in the ring, Brooke was snarling, her teeth were covered in blood thanks to a straight jab I hit her with a few moments ago. Her face angrily

"How's Maddie?" She asked with a smile. My nostrils flared and I swung at her viciously, my hand connected with the side of her face. Hard. But I didn't stop there, she fell to the ground and I straddled her hitting her continuously, my fist kept hitting harder and harder, my anger taking over. I had no clue what was happening, everything was a blur. Soon I felt a pair of strong arms pull me off, tears began to fall as I was dragged away. I had no energy to fight them off.

They brought me into the changing room where I curled into a ball and let my emotions go, all the anger, sadness and guilt.

"Come on Kid, let it out," Maddox said, he wrapped his arm around me and just let me cry. I don't know how long I was there but I after I calmed down and cleaned myself up. Maddox returned with a hefty envelope, he handed it over to me, I took it and peered inside, it was full of hundred dollar bills.

"How much?" I asked simply.

"Thirty grand," he said with a shrug as if it was nothing.

I stuffed it in my bag, grabbed my stuff and walked out. My head was killing me and I was pretty sure some serious makeup cover-up would be needed for school the next day. I couldn't imagine how dead everyone will be tomorrow, I don't know who's genius idea it was to have the party on a school night, but it will be like walking in the midst of a zombie apocalypse if last year was anything to go by.

I pulled up to my house at around 4 in the morning, I winced. School would start in 4 hours, and I couldn't afford to be up late. Not if I wanted to stay on the team, I shut my car door quietly and scaled up the garage and into my room, breathing a sigh of relief that I hadn't made too much noise. I walked over to the bed and fell down onto the mattress face down before I knew it I was fast asleep.

The blaring alarm of my phone woke me up with a start, I groaned internally and lazily reached over to switch it off. I picked myself up and looked in the mirror.

I looked like shit.

My face was sporting a bruise around my eye and cheek area and I have several small cuts across my face.

I went to shower cleaning all the dirt off my body from last night's events, the cuts looked a bit better since they were cleaned and there wasn't any dried up blood around them, but my bruise still looked the same. Awful. I touched it tenderly and winced at the pain. I sighed and went to get changed in my usual black attire making sure to cover up the bruise as best as possible but it didn't really work, it hurt too much to keep going so I just gave up and opted to wear very dark sunglasses all day. I knew I'd get an earful from Jesse if he found out, and it wasn't like I could just walk around the school and not have anyone ask questions about the black ring covering 30 per cent of my face. I grabbed my keys, bag and phone and ran downstairs making sure to avoid my parents who were home surprisingly.

I got to school just in time, the bell rang loudly across the grounds as I raced through the doors. I burst through my form room door and everyone's heads whipped around to face me, I apologised for being late and walked over to my seat to see a beaming Chloe sitting in the chair next to me.

"Morning!" she said happily.

"What's got you so happy?" I asked with a smile.

"Not much," She leaned over to grab something from her bag and pulled out my jacket from last night, "Here," she said offering it over to me.

"Keep it, it looks better on you anyway," I said, remembering how good it looked on Chloe last night.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

I just nodded, she thanked me and slipped it back in her bag. We continued talking throughout form until the bell rung signally first period. Luckily, I hadn't been asked to take off my glasses so no one had noticed my bruise, I already know that having to try and explain that wouldn't be very fun and considering I'm on a thin sheet of ice it would be best if no one found out.

"I'll catch up with you later yeah?" I said to Chloe as we parted ways.

"Sure, see you at lunch," she said with a wave as she walked off. I was going to my first class; Maths, when I was pulled by my arm.

"Jesse?!" I said once I saw the boy. He said nothing and took me into one of the music rooms, he grabbed my glasses and slid them off my face, much to my arguments. He was mad, it was clear to see. His arms were crossed and his eyes narrowed.

"Speak. Now." He said. I sighed and began to tell him the events of last night.

"Brooke!" He exclaimed after I'd finished.

"Yep," I said with a shrug.

"Jeez, I didn't expect to see her again, not after last time," He said pacing around the room.

"You're telling me!" I said.

"And she gave you this, nasty thing," He said pointing to my face.

"Yep," I said again.

"How much?" He asked. I stared back at him confused. "Prize money," he clarified.

"Oh, 30 grand," I said nonchalantly, these types of figures were normal for the fight especially when it was one as high profile as me and Brooke's.

Jesse just sighed, "What?" I asked.

"It's dodgy money, Beca"

"No it's not, what the hell Jess?!"

"Beca, how much is in that secret account you have, away from your parents?" He said folding his arms.

"Does it matter?" I asked.

"How much?" He repeated.

"$900,000," I said, waiting for his outburst.

"What!" He shouted.

"Jesse shut the fuck up," I said hitting his arm.

"Nine! Nine hundred thousand. Beca!" He said running his hands through his hair.

"Calm down, Jess," I said. I was so late to class, Posen was going to murder me.

"Calm down! Calm down! Beca this is out of control, you, you need to quit. Now." He rambled off.

"No," I said adamantly.

"Beca this is wrong. Look what happened last time, Brooke turned up. What about Chloe? Do you want to get her involved in this mess?"

"Shut up, Jess. You have no right to talk about that. Ever. Now, leave me alone." I stormed out of the music room and made my way to Maths. Actually, no. Fuck Maths. I walked outside and round the ally, took my lighter and cigarettes out of my bag, and lit one up.

"Beca?" I slowly turned around and froze in my tracks when I saw who it was.

 **Thoughts?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! I know this has taken forever I struggled to get this one the way I wanted, but we are finally here. A new chapter for Business Manager should be up this week, hopefully! If you want to go and check that out. I have incredible support over on there and would love to keep that going! Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 4**

"Chloe!" I said all the air being taken out of my lungs.

"What the hell happened?!" She said, her face full of concern.

"What do you mean?!" I asked unconvincingly.

"Umm, the massive bruise on your face, kind of hard to miss it you know," Chloe said sarcastically, I must be rubbing off on her.

"Oh, that?" I said pretending to act innocent, normally I would be comfortable in finding a viable excuse but for some reason, I just couldn't, I couldn't seem to do anything, except act like the idiot I was currently being.

"Yeah, that. What happened Beca?" She asked her voice now softer, she moved closer to try and inspect my face, but I pushed her hand away.

"It's nothing," I shrugged off, my defences coming up higher and higher.

"Beca! That is not just 'nothing' !" Chloe exclaimed, trying again.

"Leave it alone. I'm being serious." I warned, "Why are you out here anyway?" I asked putting my shades back on, I really didn't need anyone else examining my beaten up face.

"Why are you out here? I thought you were on probation from the principal or whatever," Chloe countered.

"I asked you first," I argued back.

Chloe sighed, "I have cheer practice," she pointed to the blue and white sports bag that was pooled by her feet, I didn't see that before.

"But, it's still like 1st period," I said confused, when had the school allowed people to leave to go to sports practice? Never.

"We got special permission, the team has a few competitions coming out, this is sort of my introduction, if all goes well they will let me try out later this week," Chloe explained.

"Right," I nodded, it all sounded like a load of rubbish to me. The only thing I cared about was when the cheerleaders performed halftime at my games, what can I say, I do love my girls. However, now I think about it since Chloe has turned up I have been with nobody, god what is this girl doing to me. The thought hadn't even crossed my mind, I'd been too preoccupied with everything else surrounding me I just hadn't had any time, but the funny thing was… I didn't really mind.

"So..?" Chloe said trailing off awkwardly.

"Well, I should get back, I'm late enough as it is, and you probably have to get to practice," Beca Dias not missing the disappointed that passed over Chloe's face but was quickly dismissed with a bright smile.

"Yeah, umm I'll see you around," Chloe said and walked off in the direction of the sports buildings.

"See you around Red," I muttered, but Chloe was too far gone to hear. I sighed and pressed my forehead against the wall, what is it about her? Why does she make me feel things I haven't felt before? Why?

I looked at my phone and saw it was quite far into first period, so I decided to walk back my hands stuffed into my pockets, my sunglasses back over my face and my bag slung over my shoulder. The corridors were silent as I kept walking through, it was weird compared to the constant hustle and noise that I was used to any other time.

I pushed the door open to 's class and everyone stopped their conversation and stared at me. The blonde teacher stood tall and folded her arms over her chest, eyes glaring back at me.

"Where have you been? You are 30 minutes late." She said checking her watch.

"Sorry, I went to the nurse, I wasn't feeling well," I lied, walking over to my desk at the back the blonde seemed to accept my answer but still kept watching me until I got my books out and paid attention.

"Glasses please Beca." She asked. Everyone had gone back to their work and didn't seem to care anymore. I pulled my hood up and let my hair form a curtain over my face to shield my bruise from the public eye and slid my glasses off. Normally, I would challenge her and question her authority but I was still very aware of my conditions that had to be met for me to continue playing and doing the things that kept me sane in this messed up world so I just agreed, which the blonde looked pleasantly surprised at.

The lesson continued without a problem, I kept to myself as aways and didn't ask or answer any question, just got on with my work and tried to blend in and not attract too much attention. With attention, came people and right now, I didn't want to particularly be around many people, especially in my current state. They would ask questions, and questions were a bad thing, too many questions gets you into trouble, and no one wants to be in trouble - at least not when it would be with the U.F.C dealing out the punishments. Horrible, draining, deathly and toxic punishments, you'd be begging for death by the time they were done with you.

They played a dangerous game, like chess. We were all just pawn's waiting to be removed unless you were the lucky winner who got to stay, otherwise, you would be used and tossed aside, not another thought to your existence. I understood this and I knew I was a pawn, a pawn waiting for the congratulations that I would be the winner, the best, the most powerful. It's something everyone member of the U.F.C destined and strived to achieve, they just didn't have what it took. But now, I've arrived, and this game is about the end in checkmate.

The bell rung at the end of 3rd-period history signalling it was time for lunch, I headed out to my locker to pick up a few textbooks for my last two afternoon lessons when I was stopped by Coach Conners.

"What's up Coach?" I asked.

"We now have a game tonight, it was supposed to be next week but the other team has had a change of plans, do you have your kit?" He asked desperately.

"Yeah it's in there," I said nodding my head on the direction of my locker, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, great, thanks! I have also been informed that you seem to behaving, no detentions, I'm proud, Beca, keep it up!" He said with a smile, he clapped me on the back and went off to find some of the other girls to see if they were also available.

I moved into the line for the canteen and waited until I finally got to the front where Jesse pushed in with me, a stupid smile on his face.

"What?" I asked sceptically, after his outburst earlier, I didn't expect to see him around me, it's what he normally did then we'd be friends again the next day.

"Chloe is looking for you," he said raising his eyebrow suggestively and nudging my shoulder teasingly.

"Oh shut up Jess," I said, though secretly I was smiling like an idiot on the inside. I'd had girls' ask for me before, asking where I was, but this was different. This was Chloe and Chloe was special.

"What's going on with you guys anyway?" He asked picking up and apple from one of the food trays.

"I don't know...I like her. A lot. But, you know, I'm not the person she needs. I'm dangerous, I can't put her in danger, not after last time." I explained with a sigh, Jesse was easy to talk to, he understood. Yeah, we had our moments, but all friendships did, he normally helped me out when I don't know what to do, and unfortunately, he was normally right. One of the main suppliers to his ego.

"I got a bit caught up in everything earlier, but she seems to be good for you Beca. She's kind, thoughtful, cheerleader, always happy," he said.

"Everything I'm not," I replied with a smirk.

"Well, they do say opposites attract," Jesse replied with a grin. Damn Jesse and his annoying logic!

"So...What are you going to do?" He asked as we walked over to our table.

"I don't know, man. I'll think about it." I said. I could see a wave of red facing away from me indicating Chloe was already there. For 3 years no one else had been allowed on our table, now all of a sudden she turns up and sits with us every lunch.

Stacie would be having a field day if she saw me like this. She'd say that "Love had got to your head pipsqueak," one of the many names she called me. I missed her, but I had spoken to her here and there and she said she was really enjoying it, and to me, that's all that mattered, I knew how much she had wanted this so I was really proud of her for getting it.

I sat down next to Chloe who smiled at me with one of her eye to eye grins', she and Chicago were clearly in a deep conversation, so I just sort of zoned out and didn't even realise that they'd asked me a question until I felt someone nudge me in the shoulder.

"Hey," Chloe said, "You zoned out for a bit,".

"Oh yeah, um sorry," I said looking down.

"When is your next gig?" She asked. My mind began to actually function and I had to rack my brain for an answer.

"Saturday, I think," I said unsure, we normally had one Saturday at either a bar or party of some sort, but I wasn't so sure. Chloe seemed to accept my answer and the three of them fell back into an easy conversation. The talk I had at the start of lunch crept into my mind, and I thought heavily about it, going over every single detail that I could, but he was right, Chloe was good for me. I'd been in a good mood ever since she'd turned up, no one night stands' or going off and drinking lots, the only exception was that one night a few weeks ago, she was beautiful and funny and she just seemed to get me. The fact she cared so much about what happened to me earlier but didn't push too much when I didn't answer and it made me consider everything more.

I really liked her and I think it would be good for me, settle myself and maybe...just maybe find something truly incredible.

15 minutes later I had psyched myself up enough to ask Chloe on a date. I had never been this nervous before but I wasn't going to back out, not now. I saw Jesse in the corner of my eye gesture towards Chloe, clearly telling me that I should do it now.

"Hey Chic do you mind coming with me to the music room, I have a new song that I want to show you try and include it in the next set?" Jesse asked trying to leave me and Chloe alone to talk without anyone else being there, I was extremely grateful, I would have been more awkward then I knew I was going to be anyway if both of them had been there.

Both of the boys left and it was just us two. Chloe turned to face me and put a comforting hand on my forearm.

"Are you okay, you've been really quiet?" She asked gently, scooting a bit closer to me, making my nerves skyrocket. My brain was turning to mush by the second with her sitting that close to me, I could smell her intoxicating perfume from here, it smelled like roses and matched her personality perfectly. Chloe was passionate, which was almost the definition of a rose, and it also matched her red hair.

I took a deep breath and turned to look at her straight on, our faces inches apart now.

"Would you want to go on a date with me?" I asked, anxiously awaiting her answer. Chloe smiled at me, and tentatively reached for my hand, lacing our fingers together, my breath hitched in my throat, our hands fit together perfectly. I thought of us like fire an and ice, two opposites that balance each other out and go together well. I am fire, hot-headed, has a great amount of power and the potential to destroy and bring trouble wherever I go. Chloe was ice; cool and calm, she is sculpted to perfection but can break just easily as she was created. Ice was one of the four main elements, an essential in life, and I had a feeling she would be essential in my life as well.

"I would love to go on a date with you," Chloe finally said, all my nerves and doubts flew out the window and my confidence rushed back in.

"Then I'll pick you up at 7 o'clock on Friday night," I said.

"Great," Chloe responded, our faces were still only inches apart. The bell for the end of lunch rung and we slowly pulled away, our fingers still intertwined. We received lots of looks as we walked through the hallway, and hushed whispered echoed around as people began gossiping. I knew that by tomorrow false stories would be all across the school, she would almost always be the centre of rumours but she had found over the years people would always talk, you just have to ignore what's false and focus on the truth.

 **Thoughts? Please leave a review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the massive wait, but it's finally here. This one is mainly Beca but Chloe is in here as well. I hope you enjoy!**

 **Chapter 5**

I spent the rest of my day thinking of where I should take Chloe. I don't want to do what I do with every other girl. Chloe was different, and she deserved different. Normally, I'd take a girl to dinner, maybe make a detour to Luke's bar, then go back to their place. I'd maybe hang with them for a few days then, move on. Repeat the same cycle. But Chloe didn't deserve that, well none of them did, but I was determined to make this special for Chloe. I wanted to be a better person for her, change my 'player' ways and settle down.

The U.F.C is the last thing on my mind, for once, and I'm going to make the most of it. So that's why I was sitting in English staring out of the window doing nothing my pencil trapped between my teeth, my fingers drumming out a quiet beat on the table. My date with Chloe seemed way more important than learning about the connections of Shakespeare's Macbeth to modern day life.

Time seemed to pass slowly over the next hour, I was sure I nearly fell asleep twice but I somehow managed to keep myself awake. The bell signalled the end of the lesson, I packed up my stuff and headed over to my locker. I got to miss 5th period fortunately as I had to go to my soccer game. The actual match would be after school, but the other team would arrive early and we would need change, warm-up and have a team talk before we played. Jesse and Chicago said they were going to come, and I couldn't help but hope Chloe would show up as well.

We were playing our rival team tonight, it was going to be a big game and we hoped for a big turnout. Even though the game was scheduled last minute new spread quick around this school so I had no doubt most people already knew about it.

The North Atlanta Warriors. The second best team in the state, Barden being the first, they were ruthless and our entire school shared a rivalry with them. Barden's boys' football team also had a hatred to the school, they had been in a conference championship with them two years ago and had played away. North Atlanta's referees had clearly been biased and it resulted in them winning and the beginning of a whole new definition of the word rivalry between our schools.

There had been fights between our schools whenever we had any sporting event against each other. The police had even had to monitor some of our games as it got too out of hand, so it should definitely be an interesting night.

I grabbed my boots and sports bag from my locker and headed over to the changing rooms where the rest of my team was. Coach Connors came in about 10 minutes after once everyone was changed. We all sat along the two benches as he began his speech.

"Now, girls, I appreciate all of you for being here at such short notice, I have a feeling North Atlanta planned this, sounds like the sort of thing they'd do. But, it's not going to affect us, we are going to go out there and show them that we will not be beaten. Want you to all remember to play as a team, pass it around them, don't let them touch it. Close them down, put them under pressure, force them to mess up. If you get the opportunity to shoot, now I know we lost Stacie this year but we still have some amazing players on this team that we can use to our advantage. Beca, you've kept up your promise to the head about your behaviour so I want you to captain the team tonight if that's okay with you?" Coach Connors asked. I nodded. I was happy that all my hard work was paying off, the number of times I'd shut my mouth in Posen's class was killing me, so it was nice that I was actually getting something from this.

I stood up and faced my teammates, it was a tradition that the captain makes a speech before every game, "I know I haven't been the best example off the pitch for a long time, but that's changing. I want to be a better captain no only on the pitch but outside as well. I'm going to be the best I can to not only win this game but bring home that trophy this year!" The rest of the team cheered and we all jogged out to the pitch to begin warming up.

Our keeper went into the goal and I went over to grab a ball, my fellow striker, Ashley the other end of the penalty box. We took turns shooting, most of mine went in despite the impressive saves our keeper Amy did. After that, we lined up for some passing drills, we all went in two lines and passed the ball diagonally, once we did that we added in a few more balls and began moving as well. From the outside, it looked incredibly hard but it just took each simple move to be executed perfectly for it to work.

The opposing team's bus suddenly pulled up, and a group of 15 or so girls walked out in their navy blue tracksuits. They began walking over, their captain in the middle, the rest of them following her. Their captain, Ella, was blonde, pretty and a good player, I'll give her that, but apart from that, she was nothing special. She was a bitch with a shitty attitude, just like the rest of her team.

 _Meanwhile…_

Chloe was sitting in 5th-period Chemistry, a subject she was quite good at, they were doing a practical and she had been paired with the head cheerleader. She had become quite good friends with everyone on the squad and hope that she would be accepted. The captain's name was Jessica and she had blonde curly hair, she was at the top of the social ladder.

"So...I saw you were hanging around with Mitchell earlier?" Jessica said, pouring a chemical into an empty jar.

"Oh, umm, yeah. We've got quite close since I've moved here," Chloe said, wondering why Jessica had taken an interest.

"You guys looked pretty close," Jessica said, still not looking at Chloe, her focus on the practical.

"Yeah, she -"

"Asked you on a date?" Jessica interrupted.

"Yeah.."Chloe said not really knowing what was going on.

"You should stay away from her," Jessica warned. Chloe shot her a confused look, so she elaborated. "She's a player, she's slept with basically everyone in the school. Takes them out on a date, sleeps with them then leaves them a few days later. She turns on that smirk and charm and everyone falls at her feet. You're fresh meat Chloe, don't let her get to you. Take it from someone who knows," Jessica said.

"You've slept with Beca!" Chloe whispered.

"Everyone has, she prides herself on it. She's not good Chloe."

Chloe was left to sit with that for the rest of the hour, was Beca a bad person? Had she just been played? Or did the girl have true feelings for her? Chloe didn't know what to do, but she had always been taught at a young age not to judge a book by its cover, so she was going to find out for herself.

The bell rang at the end of class and she headed over to her locker where she'd meet Jesse and Chicago. Once she got there she could already see students cheering and shouting, wearing green and yellow jerseys and hoodies. People had flags and scarfs, something Chloe had only really seen at actual sports events, not at a high school soccer match. Her old school hadn't been too big on sports so the enthusiasm was never there, not like at Barden. It was like she'd gone from one extreme to another.

"Chloe!" She heard over the noise of chattering students, she spotted Chicago standing over in the corner sporting a green Barden hoodie like everyone else. She manoeuvred her way around everyone until she reached them.

"Hey guys," she greeted, "You guys really go all out."

"Yeah, we are all pretty obsessed with sports here, especially when it's against our arch rivals," Jesse said.

"Oh, before I forget, here," Chicago handed Chloe a green hoodie similar to his. "It's Beca's, thought it'd get you in the spirit," he explained. Chloe tried it on, it fit perfectly, and it smelled of cigarettes and vanilla two very different smells, but they smelled like Beca. It was comforting in a way, the inside was warm and snug.

After Chloe but her things away, the three of them headed off to the game.

 _Back on the pitch…_

Ella stood in front of me, her height posing as intimidating, our arms were folded and we glared at each other.

"Mitchell," She said coldly, looking down at me.

"Jones," I countered.

"You ready to lose?"

I pretended to think about it for a minute, before replying, "No, I'll save that for you," I left her standing with her mouth agape. I could see people filling up the stands, and as I expected we were going to get a big turn-out. There was already a few people from North Atlanta here as well, but I still hadn't seen Jesse, Chicago or Chloe yet.

A shout from Coach Connors pulled me from my search as I jogged over to where the rest of the team was.

"Right guys, let's head in and talk tactics before we start, kickoff is in 20 minutes," He said leading the way back to the changing rooms.

We all huddled onto the benches again but this time a massive whiteboard was at the front, a pitch was drawn out and 22 counters were lined up formations.

"Okay, so we are going to go with a 4-4-2 formation, to begin with, test the waters and see how it goes if we need to change it we will. Now, we know when they get the ball they pass it quickly, so I want you to all press as a team, don't all just run towards the ball, jockey them out of it, cut off any possible passes then move forward together. That's what we are going to focus on this season working as a team. You will find that if you do everything on your own you won't get anywhere, but as a team, you will see significant changes. Let the ball do the work, pass it firmly and accurately. Offer easy passes, triangles, one-twos, that's what I want to see tonight.

The team is going to be as follows: Amy in goal."

The loud Australian let out a cheer, even though she was our only keeper.

"Cynthia, Denise, Lily and Flo in defence," They all nodded.

"Emily, Alice, Ruby, Cory in midfield."

"Cool," Emily, a sophomore said, she was a bundle of energy, and someone you couldn't help but like, she was a good player despite being younger than most of the squad.

"Beca and Ashley up top," he finished.

"It sounds like we have quite the crowd out there tonight so let's give them a show," Connors called.

We all nodded and ran out, I let the adrenaline fill me, much like before I had a performance, the crowd's cheers would calm my nerves. When I ran onto the pitch we were all greeted with a massive chorus of screams.

"Barden! Barden! Barden!"

Then from the other exit North Atlanta came out, they received mostly jeers from our side but you could hear the cheers from the away fans. We set ourselves out. The referee called for the captains, Ella and me, to come forward for the coin toss.

"Heads or Tails?" He asked.

"Heads," I said. He flipped it in the air and let it fall to the ground, he picked it up.

"Heads it is, Barden kickoff," He called. Ella and I shook hands reluctantly then retreated back to our sides.

Ashley took her place in the centre and once the whistle blew we were off, she passed the ball back to me and I knocked it forward, I saw Emily out on the wing so I loved it over to her. She controlled it well on her chest and ran with it, she was quick, quicker than her opposing player and she easily ran past them. Out of nowhere, she fell to the ground. I looked over and saw one of their players on the ground, she had clearly done a slide tackle and got the ball from Emily.

We moved back into our defensive roles and tried our best to get the ball back into our position. As predicted they passed quickly but thanks to Coach Connor's earlier instructions Cynthia took the ball in an interception.

Atlanta played dirty, little pushes and shoves here and there, but the sore was still 0-0, I'd had a good chance in the job but hadn't seen one of their defenders coming in and they blocked my shot.

It had just gone out for a goal kick, Amy set the ball at the 6-yard line and kicked it over towards Ruby, she controlled it then knocked it past the defender, I called for it in the middle, Ruby looked up and passed it to me. I dribbled my way into the final quarter when I saw Emily open on the other side. I passed a through ball over to her, she ran quickly down the wing jumping over two defenders who attempted to slide tackle her again. I was running into the box, Ella was hot on my tail.

"Emily!" I called, she turned her head and crossed the ball into the box, it was heading straight for my head, I jumped and I connected with the ball, and it was like slow motion the ball flew past all the other defenders, brushed past the keeper's fingers and landed at the back of the net. My feet finally touched back down on the ground, but just as they did I was knocked back down again.

I heard a loud whistle and saw Ella standing over me a snarl on her face. I was pulled up, and a loud cheer echoed throughout the stadium, and even louder one was given when Ella was given a red card. She stomped off the pitch and was shouted at by her coach. When I looked around the stadium, somehow I saw a ball of red hair. Chloe. She was cheering and wearing a green Barden hoodie, Jesse and Chicago were next to her, cheering just as loud. I had no idea how'd I'd managed to find her but I did, and that was what mattered. I waved over to her, giving her a wide smile which she happily reciprocated.

Atlanta took the ball from the centre but as soon as the passed it the whistle blew for halftime. It was 1-0 and I was extremely happy, Ella had been sent off which meant that we would have a better chance of scoring another goal against them and increasing our lead.

We headed back into our changing room after a gracious applause from the crowd.

As soon as we were all in the changing room a wave of cheers erupted, we all had smiling faces and Coach Connors was beaming as well. It had been an amazing first-half and once the team had taken on Connors instructions we had really come into our own. We were playing not as individuals but as a team, and if we kept it up I was sure that we would score more goals.

We were in the midst of celebrating when a knock at the door interrupted us, I turned and saw something I didn't expect to see. Chloe standing there, I excused myself and walked over.

"How did you get back here?" I asked with a smirk.

"I have my ways Mitchell," she replied with a glint on her eye.

We walked into the hallways so we could talk privately, without the loudness from the rest of my team.

"I didn't know if you'd come," I admitted shyly.

"Of course I came, wouldn't miss the chance to watch you kick some ass, would I?" Chloe said I laughed Chloe always had a way of making me laugh. It made me feel stupid to think how rude I was to her when we first met. She was such a nice girl, the human form of sunshine to be precise - see, look what she's doing to me - and she just memorized me with her beauty her fun personality. Normally, I would never ever put myself in a situation where I would spend time with someone like Chloe, but somehow I couldn't leave. It would feel like I was missing a piece of myself if I left her, the thought of not having her in my life terrified me, it was almost like I needed her. I needed her in my life, she was my missing piece.

"You played amazing out there by the way!" Chloe said giving me a light shove on the shoulder. "Is there anything you can't do?"

"I mean..I am pretty amazing, aren't I?" I said jokingly.

"Sure are Mitchell," She replied with a laugh.

"Mitchell, get in here!" I heard being called from back inside the changing rooms.

"I better get back," I said, "Thanks for coming down to see me."

"Of course. Here for good luck," Chloe said and leant down a pressed a kiss to my cheek.

My mind went into auto-pilot after that and I watched her walk away, but I'm pretty sure she added an extra sway to her hips as she did. After I managed to collect myself together I walked back into the changing room, where Coach Connors was explaining our plan for the second half.

"So, they only have 10 players now, so I want us to push up. Defence I want you to hold your line, watch for any offside and play as a unit. Midfield keep up the good work, keep the passes going. Strikers, try and get some more goals in, keep picking at them and I'm sure we'll manage to get one or two in. Right, let's get there! Let's go, Barden!" He called.

We all cheered loudly and ran back outside, the crowd chanting as we began the second half.

The game began similar to the second half but knowing Chloe was in the crowd cheering me on made me more determined to put on a show. Throughout the rest of the game, I felt like I'd never played better, my passes were accurate, my vision for through balls seemed to increase, and my shooting had been on point however it seemed that their keeper was also on top of their game as none of my shots had gone in. I was getting frustrated and a few fouls had been the consequence of that.

We were in the last 5 minutes of the game and we were all beginning to tire, I could feel my legs burning but I pushed on knowing that I had to continue and couldn't give in. The ball was currently in possession with Atlanta and they were progressing quickly managing to pass easily around our defenders despite their attempts to close them down. Before I knew it, I saw the ball being put in the back of the net. They'd scored.

Fuck.

I turned and saw Ella standing on the sidelines, and evil grin on her face, I put my middle finger up at her before turning away and jogging up to the centre spot to begin the game again. As the ball was passed back to me, I heard the chants increasing but this one was different from all the others.

"Mitchell! Mitchell! Mitchell!" I looked over at Chloe and gave her a warm smile, I was going to win this, win it for her, for me, for my team and for the school.

I looked over and the clock 2 minutes left to play. The whistle sounded again and I quickly tapped it back to Ashley who played a one-two with Emily. It was then played back to defence where Lilly and Cynthia did a few triangles before lobbing it back over to Emily. She controlled it via her head before bringing back down to the ground. Ruby was open on the other side, it was a risky pass but I knew Emily could do it. Seconds later the ball flew over my head and onto the other side of the pitch where Ruby was. She knocked it past two players before cutting inside. I called for the ball, Ruby looked up and firmly passed it to me, I dodged an incoming player and had the goal in my sight. I saw a player coming in from the left in a slide tackle so I quickly flicked it up over her and hit it hard with my laces, it flew right into the top corner.

I was quickly attacked by hugs from my teammates who were congratulating me on the goal. The crowd was going nuts, people were screaming and I looked over at Chloe who was cheering loudly next to Jesse and Chicago who were jumping up and down, and shot her a wink. I looked over at Coach Connors who gave me a thumbs up and a big smile. I saw the Atlanta players how we're all looking dejected knowing that it was over, that we had won. I grabbed the ball from the back of the net and placed it down on the spot. The Atlanta striker stepped up to it, and as soon as it left her feet the final whistle blew out.

I ran over to my team and we all exchanged a massive hug, wide smiles on all our faces. We still congratulated the other team for 'good play' as a sign of good sportsmanship but soon went back to celebrating our first win of the season.

To top it off I was awarded player of the match and handed the match ball. It was non-stop celebrating when we got back into the changing room, after a few quick words from Coach I rushed out to go and meet Jesse, Chicago and Chloe back at my car.

I found them quite quickly despite the mass of students still pouring out from the exits and was instantly engulfed in a hug by both of the guys even though they knew how much I hated them, but I couldn't find it in myself to care at that moment. I then remembered the match ball that was in my bag, I took it out and handed it to Chloe.

"For you," I said with a smile, Chloe accepted the ball graciously, and after we all had a quick catch up about the game we all parted ways.

When I put my stuff in the boot of my car, my phone vibrated, I reached for it and saw it was a text from Jesse.

 **Jesse: You are in love, my friend.**

I thought about what he'd put the entire way home and finally came to my conclusion. I was, I was in love with Chloe Beale. I just had to show her, and it wouldn't be easy I knew that but who said relationships were easy.

 **Please review and tell me what you thought!**


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